Never Say Never
by lil7miss7sarcastic
Summary: Robin and Barney's relationship, as seen from the eyes of the Mother, and the part she plays in their story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first HIMYM fic and I'm completely obsessed with Robin and Barney! I've changed my style of writing for this. Constructive criticism is welcome. Reviews are also welcome.**

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><p>It's her first day at the bar with Ted's group and Rachel's really nervous. It's not like she's never met them before, but this is her first evening with them as Ted's girlfriend and she knows how important they are to him.<p>

Time passes, and Rachel's feeling comfortable already. She has figured out his friends- there's Barney, the womanizer; Robin, the care-a-damn girl; Marshall and Lily, the sweet married couple and Ted, who she guesses, is the Lonely Boy.

Rachel notices the obvious things- Marshall and Lily holding hands beneath the table, harmonizing with each other's thoughts and casting warmth over the whole group, and Ted glancing at her every now and then nervously. She doesn't mind, because she knows _exactly_ how he feels.

And _then_ Rachel notices the not-so obvious things- Robin placing a hand on Barney's arm whenever she leans forward to tell a story, a split-second flash of something in Barney's eyes when a guy walks up to Robin at the bar.

Full of curiosity, Rachel makes her way towards Robin.

"Hey."

"Hey!" Robin smiles.

"So…Ted told me that he used to date you earlier. Is it weird hanging out with your ex all the time?" she asks casually.

"No, not at all." Robin shakes her head, "We're friends more than exes. You don't need to worry."

"Oh no, it's not a problem with me."

"Plus, I hang out with Barney too."

"Barney?"

"Yeah, I dated him too."

"O_h_." It makes sense then.

Back at the booth, Rachel tries to notice more signs but it's as if Robin and Barney have subconsciously picked up on what she's trying to do. Then Lily brings up Norah, a girl who Barney likes. Apparently.

"-so I invited her over." Lily finishes with a flourish.

Barney splutters and makes a great fuss. He's panicking and it appears that he's nervous about meeting Norah. Lily's looking at him like an over-indulgent mother and Barney's glaring at her. But something feels off, and that's when Rachel notices how tight Robin's smile is.

So when a pretty girl with black hair makes her entrance ("There she is!"), Rachel tells Ted that she has to go home. He looks at her with concern but she shakes her head and smiles. She doesn't want to see what's going to happen next.

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><p><strong>I know it's really short. There will be longer chapters in the future. Hopefully.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter's shorter than the first one. Anyways...**

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><p>It's her first movie night with Ted's group and according to him, it means that she's been accepted by the group, for they never invite any of his girlfriends' for movie night. Except Robin, of course, and Rachel feels a little jealous.<p>

Barney inserts the DVD and they take their places. It's almost as if their moves are choreographed. Marshall and Lily take the centre place on the sofa, with Barney next to Marshall, Robin on the floor under Barney and Ted squeezed next to Lily, while Rachel's left standing awkwardly.

Ted notices her discomfort and brings up a chair next to him. Once she makes herself comfortable, he takes her hand in his.

Barney presses play and Rachel can't help but notice that he's smirking slightly.

The movie starts and the screen shows a school girl with fake blond hair and in a really short uniform. There's a second of stunned silence and then Robin springs up. "Barney!" she shouts, hitting him with a cushion.

Rachel stares, transfixed, at the screen. "Is that…Robin?" she asks, looking at her singing and dancing about a mall in an unbelievably ridiculous outfit.

Ted nods, doubling over in laughter. "Long story."

Barney's been overcome with a fit of silent laughter. "You should have seen your face!" he gasps.

Robin exhales, "Thanks a lot, Swarley."

Now Marshall, Lily and Ted are laughing at Barney instead, who's frowning at Robin. Rachel knows it's an inside joke and feels left out.

Ted, always the gallant knight, switches off the TV and tries to restore calm. But there's no need, for a minute later, Barney and Robin are sitting on the floor, laughing their heads off. This time, even Lily notices and she stares at the pair with a strange expression. Its then that Rachel realizes that somewhere in the Robin and Barney story, even Lily was involved.

"Now, now children." Marshall chides, bending over the DVD rack. Rachel giggles and Ted stares at her.

It's simple really, Rachel thinks, Lily and Marshall are the parents, Robin and Barney are the naughty kids and Ted is the uncle. Rachel just doesn't know where she belongs.

Marshall picks out a DVD with a very pompous air. "Manos- The Hands of Fate!" he announces.

"No!" she and Ted yell at the same time.

They look at each other and smile.

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><p><strong>Rachel and Ted hate the same movie...<strong>

**Reviews?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A thousand apologies to tegan-loves-ncis-TIVA . This chapter is too short...**

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><p>It's her first important event with the group, the important event being Marshall's birthday, and they're having dinner at a fancy restaurant.<p>

When Rachel returns from the bathroom, she overhears Ted asking Lily something, and Lily replying with "Because she's not a random skank."

"Yeah," Marshall nods, "and if you let her go, we'll kill you."

Rachel pretends not to hear anything, but can't help feeling happy inside and extra-fond of her friends. She knows what they're talking about, for in the album Lily had shown her earlier, Ted was with a different girl in most of the pictures. And he looked happy with them. Rachel just hopes that Lily is right.

In the middle of an excellent dessert, Ted yelps and ducks under the table, upsetting the cutlery.

"Ted?" Rachel asks, worried.

But the rest don't share her concern. They just groan and Marshall asks Ted, "Who is it?"

"I think it's Zoey." He replies.

Rachel knows that Zoey is his ex-girlfriend and that they parted on a really bitter note, but she doesn't see the need for Ted to hide under the table.

"Ted!" she says, exasperated, "just come up. Everyone's staring!"

Barney cranes his neck behind. "Who is it? Is it Stella again?"

"Stella? Who's Stella?"

"_Ohh_…" Robin says.

"Just my ex-fiancé." Comes Ted's muffled reply and she realizes that Ted has not told her a lot of things, whether accidently or on-purpose, she doesn't know. "_Ex-fiancé_?"

"God Ted, this is crazy!" Lily exclaims, "It's a case of mistaken identity. It's not Stella or Zoey. Thank _god_ it's not Zoey."

Ted emerges with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I'll tell you everything later."

Rachel nods curtly, a little annoyed with him. The group stares warily at her.

"Soo, Robin," she starts, trying to break the awkward silence. "How come I have never heard of Robin Sparkles?"

The table laughs. Robin rolls her eyes. "That's because I was just a teen one-hit wonder."

"Yeah…in, like, _Canada_." Barney snorts and Robin glares at him.

"Did you release any other songs?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah...um...there was this one follow-up song…about a breakup…" She shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

Rachel wonders what's so weird about this when she suddenly notices it- the glance shared by Barney and Robin. Then they quickly return to their cheesecake, Barney's hand clenched over his fork.

Rachel raises her eyebrows.

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><p><strong>Somehow I don't like this chapter that much. Anyways I'm overwhelmed with the reviews and story alerts. Thank you everyone!<strong>

**P.S. I loved the Robin and Barney bit in the Exploding Meatball Sub.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! Love you guys.**

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><p>It's her first all-girls bonding session and she's arrived early at Robin and Ted's apartment. Rachel hears raised voices through the half-open door and stops. Its Robin and Barney.<p>

"If you don't really care then maybe I'll go after her." He yells.

"Yeah, go!"

"Maybe I'll call her for real this time."

"Yeah, do that!"

"It's settled then."

"_We're_ settled," she shouts and Barney storms out. He doesn't notice Rachel standing in the hallway.

She knows who this is about and gives Robin exactly six minutes before knocking tentatively on the door. Robin has put on fresh makeup and greets Rachel with a bright smile. Rachel pretends not to notice the tear stains on her shirt.

An hour later, they're watching a movie with Lily. Robin seems relaxed enough but Rachel knows she's not. Though she laughs at the right parts and passes comments, her mind is far away. Her comments are less sarcastic than usual and she's fidgeting with the pendant of her necklace.

Robin's phone rings and she goes into her bedroom to take the call. Lily pauses the movie and turns to Rachel with a cheery smile.

"So Lily," she asks, feeling it safe to go on, "Robin told me that she dated Ted and Barney earlier. Doesn't it become awkward, hanging out with two of your exes?"

"No I don't think so," Lily smiles, "they're friends more than exes. No problem there."

Rachel nods. "I'm completely fine with that. It's just that, um, Barney doesn't really seem to be the, um, _committing_ type."

"Oh I know. Even I was surprised when he confessed to me about Robin. He was in love with her for about a year before they actually started dating."

"Wh-what! Really?" This is something new for Rachel. She can't believe that Barney Stinson could actually have such deep-seated feelings for anyone, and that too for such a long time.

"Yeah, and when they got together, it was for a really short time," Lily replies nonchalantly, "in the end they became really unhappy but were too stubborn to admit it. Typical Barney and Robin. So we had to break them up."

Rachel chokes. "You-you broke them up?"

Lily nods.

"You got them together and then broke them up?"

Lily nods again, this time a little uneasily.

"Barney was in love with Robin for a year." Rachel repeats, "don't you think that those kinds of feelings are a _little_ difficult to go away?"

Lily narrows her eyes. "Barney _really_ likes Norah" she says, as if it settles everything.

Before Rachel can reply, Robin's door opens and she comes out, a dazed expression on her face.

Lily notices it. "What happened? Bad news?"

"My father's been in a car accident. He's-he's critical." She replies mechanically.

It takes fifteen minutes for the gang to assemble in the apartment. Lily's arm is around Robin, Ted is holding her hand and Marshall's rubbing her back. Barney's just standing there, and Rachel is next to him.

From what she can glean from the conversations, Robin shares a very complicated relationship with her father. Daddy issues. Barney supposedly finds girls, with daddy issues, hot, Rachel faintly remembers.

Rachel knows that Marshall understands how Robin is feeling right now. He asks whether she's leaving for Canada now. She nods slightly.

"Do you want me- someone to come with you?" Barney finally asks. Robin looks up and meets his gaze for a more-than-appropriate time.

Rachel holds her breath.

"No thanks," Robin says, walking away.

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><p><strong>"My dad will be all, why don't you marry Robin? You guys were cute together. Deep down you know you were never happier than when you were with her."<strong>

**"Maybe I've met her already. "**

**Amazing.**


	5. Chapter 5

It's the first day of Operation Get-Robin-And-Barney-Back-Together and she runs into Nora at the mall. It's not luck, Rachel thinks, its Destiny.

"Hey!" she waves her hands.

"Hi!"

"Barney's girlfriend, right?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Actually I prefer Nora."

Rachel nods. "Yeah, sorry."

She gets to know Nora better over lunch. She's nice, friendly, _British_, funny and a die-hard romantic. Rachel wonders why she doesn't like her much. She brings up Barney into the conversation.

"I don't really know what we are," Nora confesses, "I've invited him to lunch with my parents, though."

"Oh." Rachel is surprised. "Well, if he agrees, then things must be serious."

Nora smiles. "I hope so." She chews thoughtfully and puts down her fork. "You know, he puts on such a tough exterior, but deep inside, he's a romantic, for sure."

"Oh I know," Rachel nods enthusiastically, "before they dated, Barney was secretly in love with Robin for a year."

Nora's glass pauses just before her lips. "Really?"

"Really." Rachel takes a sip from her Ice Tea, hiding a smirk.

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><p>"Barney! Barney!"<p>

He looks up. "What happened? Need advice on Ted?"

Rachel slides in and stares at him, flummoxed. "Um, actually, yes."

"Ask Marshall then. _He's_ his best friend." He says sourly. Rachel realizes that a disagreement must have taken place earlier.

"Okay, um, so I met Nora today! She was talking about you…" Rachel knows that if his friends were here, Barney would have asked excitedly for details. But they're not, and he just asks her disinterestedly, "And?"

"And…she _really_ likes you."

"No one can resist the Barnacle." He smirks.

Rachel rolls her eyes. "No, I mean, she's really serious about you. Lunch with the parents and all."

Barney picks up invisible lint from his suit.

"Are you blushing?" she asks, looking at his normal, pale face.

"No I'm not!" Barney says defensively and this time, he _is_ blushing.

"I think you're in love with her." Rachel remarks casually, adding the right amount of playfulness to her voice.

"No way!" he looks away.

"Is Barney Stinson really in love?" Rachel continues, "First it was Robin, and now-"

His head snaps to her. "What?"

Rachel grins. "Lily told me…about you and Robin…"

Barney takes a large gulp of his beer. "Lily is prone to stretching the truth." He says.

"Sure." And then she laughs, for Barney's deer-in-the-headlights expression reminds her of a younger brother she never had.

The next day, Rachel finds out that Barney developed cold feet about meeting Nora's parents.

"I can't violate my own rule." He points out.

"Rule-schmule!" Lily yells, "Now Nora's not even talking to you!"

Rachel just sips her drink in a self-satisfied sort of way.

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><p><strong>Any chance of more reviews? Sorry I couldn't update earlier. I touched some suspicious-looking thorny plant and my hand turned red and puffed up. It was weird.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Ahh...finally. I'd gone vacationing somewhere where there was no internet, so i was completely cut off from the world. Now that I'm back, there will be faster updates. **

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><p>It's the first month anniversary of their relationship, and she begs Ted not to do anything special.<p>

"Let's not make it anything superficial," Rachel says, "just something casual. An evening out with friends."

"Okay, but we're going to celebrate later. Privately." He winks suggestively.

She laughs.

So they're down at the bar with Marshall and Lily. Rachel is sympathizing with Lily over another kindergarten horror story and Marshall is regaling Ted with some misadventures at work. Rachel has no clue where Barney is.

Just when Marshall reaches the climax of his story, Barney and Nora stroll on. Holding hands.

"Woo!" Lily yells. Marshall orders another round of drinks.

Rachel just smiles at the happy couple.

Ted squeezes her hand, as if sensing her emotions. She gives him a reassuring smile and crams fries in her mouth.

"Guys please," Barney says, a little pleased with all the fuss Lily creates, "it's nothing."

Lily smiles fondly at him. "So how did this happen?"

Nora spouts some rubbish about Barney breaking into her house early in the morning and declaring that even if he's confused, he would rather be confused with her.

Lily sighs dreamily. Rachel frowns.

"That," Rachel says, "was a very cheesy line, Barney Stinson." She chides.

"At least it worked."

"Pass the chips, please." Nora says.

"What?" Marshall asks.

"The chips!"

"Oh." And he passes her the fries. Nora says chips instead of fries. How adorable.

Lily pesters Barney for more details and Rachel fakes interest.

Just then Ted's phone rings. Its Robin.

"Hey Robin!"

Everyone looks at Ted. Rachel looks at Barney. His face is neutral. Then she notices that even Nora has her eyes trained on Barney.

"How's your dad...he's fine? When will he be discharged from the hospital?" Ted covers the mouthpiece and tells everyone that Robin's dad is out of danger.

"Thank god." Marshall breathes.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier? We would have picked you up…oh, okay fine. All of us are missing you…see you."

"What happened?" Barney asks.

"Robin caught an early flight. It just landed. She's on her way here." Ted replies.

Nora gets up to leave. "Wait, where are you going?" Barney asks, "Robin is just coming."

"Oh it's fine," Rachel puts in, "Nora probably has a lot of work to do. Let her go."

Nora looks at her strangely. Rachel turns to Marshall and asks him to narrate his story again. He obliges a little _too_ enthusiastically.

Rachel notices Barney's eyes following Nora on the way out. She doesn't understand when everything changed. Barney Stinson is the last person, Rachel thinks, to have an epiphany overnight.

Forty minutes later, Robin enters. Her hair's longer, and she's carrying herself differently. The group stands up to greet her. Amidst the hugs and cheers, Rachel sees Barney fiddling with his Blackberry, frowning at something she can't see.

Then Barney moves in to hug Robin.

Rachel carefully looks for signs of sexual frustration or something, but there's nothing. The hug is brief and impersonal. There's nothing even when Robin tells him to 'move his ass', or when she leans past him to take a plate.

Rachel gives up. but not fully, because just then, she notices Robin pursing her lips when Lily tells her about Barney and Nora, and the expression on her face changing when Barney turns away.

So Rachel puts her hand over Robin's. Robin looks at her, surprised, but Rachel just smiles mysteriously.

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><p><strong>I have to say that I'm overwhelmed with all the Story Alerts and Reviews.<strong>

**Sarcastic Musician- Wow, I can't believe you read my story thrice! I really appreciate it.**

**Thanks also to tommy21 and Sarite.93- Sorry I couldn't reply because the link was outdated.**

**Special mention- littleblackneko. I loved your review! And I totally agree!**


	7. Chapter 7

It's the first time that she's ever been to a shooting range and she finds out that Robin's already a minor celebrity there, famous for her shooting skills. Apparently shooting targets is her way of de-stressing.

"So is everything fine between you and Mark?" Rachel asks.

"Well…not exactly," Robin replies, "we had a fight about something unimportant and he just refuses to apologize! I mean, his ego is bigger than his biceps, and that's saying something."

Rachel smiles weakly. "But you guys make such a good pair! You _have_ to get back together."

Robin frowns. "We just started dating a month ago," she says.

"But what if he's the One?"

"Come on, Rachel, he's _not_ the One." Of course she's right. Rachel knows that Robin would never be serious about guys like Mark, which is why she can safely continue with Operation Get-Robin-And-Barney-Back-Together.

"So, how's work?" Rachel asks, changing the subject.

"Better than my previous one. You know Becky, right?"

"Yeah. The boat ad still comes," she replies, wincing slightly.

"I just hope I don't stagnate in this one like last time," Robin mutters, "sometimes I feel that everything's going fine and then someone like _Nora_ gets chosen for the Scottish assignment."

Rachel nods sympathetically. "It must be hard for you to pretend to be happy for Nora." She says with innocent eyes.

Robin cocks her gun. "Why should I be happy for her?"

"She's Barney's girlfriend!"

Robin snorts. She gets ready to fire and Rachel notices that her eyes are narrowed and jaw clenched.

She takes aim and shoots.

Bull's-eye.

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><p>She's waiting for Ted at McLaren's, when she notices Robin and Mark in a corner booth, making out like a couple of horny teenagers.<p>

She grins.

Robin notices her and disentangles herself from Mark. "Hey," she approaches Rachel.

"Hi. So I'm guessing he apologized?"

"Yup. There was an 'I'm sorry' note and flowers waiting for me at home."

"Well I'm glad everything worked out," she replies.

Robin smiles and returns to Mark. Rachel's phone buzzes.

**Thnx 4 tellin me wht 2 do. **

**-Mrk**

**No problem. Anything for a friend.**

**-Rachel**

At that moment, the gang troops in. Obviously, Robin's not sitting with them today.

"So Barney," Rachel turns to him, "did you talk to Nora? How's Scotland?"

"Fine, I guess."

"You know, I really admire your self-control. This week the bar seems to be thronging with hot chicks."

Barney gives her a thanks-a-lot glare and she laughs innocently.

"You know what you've got there, Ted? A minx."

"I know," Ted says proudly, kissing her. Rachel smirks.

Lily changes the topic. "Robin seems really happy with Mark today," she remarks casually.

Marshall turns around. "Yeah…and just yesterday I thought that things were over."

"Well," Rachel starts, trying-to-be modest, "you can thank me for that."

"_You_?"

She nods. "I may have picked up a few matchmaking skills from Lily."

While Lily, impressed, goes "Really?" Rachel notices from the corner of her eye, Barney staring at her, frowning imperceptibly.

"Look at those two lovebirds," Rachel sighs. Robin is feeding Mark french fries. It's as if Robin's in a telepathic connection with Rachel, doing exactly what she wants her to do.

"Weird," Ted wonders aloud, "I never thought of Robin as the touchy-feely kind of person. I mean, never with me, _or_ Barney, _or_ Don."

"Sometimes people are a different person with their partner. Maybe its Mark's influence," Marshall mutters wisely. Rachel agrees aloud. She couldn't have put it better.

Suddenly Barney's glass slams on the table. Everyone jumps.

"Sorry guys, I'm calling it a night. I have a massive headache." He gets up and slides quickly out of the booth.

"What's _up_ with him?" Lily asks no one in particular.

With a side glance at Robin and Mark, a glance anyone could have missed if they weren't looking for it in particular, Barney walks out.

Rachel takes a long swig of her beer, silently toasting herself.

"I don't know."

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><p><strong>I'm really happy with the number of story alerts I'm getting. But I would be happier if people would review more.<strong>

**Thanks to all my regular reviewers, especially Sarcastic Musician.**


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